Anny Lopera-Rodriguez is a Legal and Advocacy Affairs Manager at Cultural Care Au Pair
At age 25, I boarded a plane from Cali, Colombia, to Ohio – excited, nervous, and unsure. I was joining a host family who would be welcoming me into their home as an “au pair” through a U.S. Department of State-regulated cultural exchange program. An au pair is a person who travels abroad and is hired to work/live with someone in their home while performing domestic duties. At the time, I didn’t know how profoundly it would shape me – professionally, personally, and culturally.
My host family consisted of a mother who is a teacher, a father who is a lawyer, and one-year-old triplets who all met me with balloons, posters, and hugs. The kids had decorated my room and given me a welcome kit of toiletries and American candy. During our first week together, we even noticed the initials of our names spelled “AMOR,” and from then on, it was truly amor.
I’d taught in Colombia, so my host mom and I bonded over education; she even showed me her classroom. Trading 80-degree Cali for chilly Ohio was a shock, so they surprised me with “Christmas in May”: warm pajamas, sweatshirts, and a heated blanket. Those small kindnesses quickly showed me that I was in the right program. My parents, back in Colombia, felt comforted knowing I was welcomed into a supportive household.
My host family helped me settle in like family, with visits to the DMV, setting up my Social Security and a bank account, and they even added me to their museum membership and gym. We practiced driving and studying for my license. All these gestures laid a foundation of confidence and belonging, while also teaching me independence and resilience as a young person abroad. And over the two years, while caring for the triplets, I experienced cultural exchange in both directions. I joined their traditions – Thanksgiving with grandparents, lake trips, and baking zucchini bread. I took English as a Second Language (ESL) classes and joined conversation groups. My host mom introduced me to line dancing, and I took her to salsa dancing. I spoke Spanish with the kids, taught songs, cooked arepas, and presented about Colombia at the local library. By year two, the triplets understood basic Spanish—and thanks to my host dad, I could flash the Texas Longhorns hand signal.
When my parents visited the U.S. for the first time, my host family welcomed them, too. We cooked together, explored my Ohio town, and my host mom gave my mother her first “American birthday” with cupcakes. I helped my parents see Niagara Falls and Times Square; we toured Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. Even after my au pair time ended, our bond has remained. I returned to Colombia to marry, and my host family came to celebrate – my host mom toasted, her sister did my hair and makeup, even the grandmothers attended. To this day, we still connect on Zoom for family dinners – but now we all make our own arepas.
My experience reflects what cultural exchange aims to achieve: increased empathy, awareness, and mutual understanding. As of 2023, about 29,000 au pairs lived with American families. Ninety percent (90%) of au pairs rate their experience in the U.S. as excellent or good, and 97% say they gained a better understanding of American culture. These aren’t abstract numbers; they mirror the growth in confidence, empathy, communication, and openness, like what I experienced after my time as an au pair.
The impacts extend to host families and children. Kids often develop early bilingualism and cultural sensitivity. 96% of host families feel the program fosters lifelong relationships and goodwill toward the U.S., and research shows 98% of au pairs and host families form bonds that last well beyond the stay.
Being an au pair isn’t just a childcare job or a way to earn money – it’s education, cultural diplomacy, and personal transformation. In an often divided world, the program builds empathy, dismantles stereotypes, and forges global connections. For me, it meant language fluency, professional growth, lifelong friendships, and a second family. It also inspired my career choice: to help make this program available to others and pay forward the best decision of my young life.
Anny Lopera-Rodriguez is a Legal and Advocacy Affairs Manager at Cultural Care Au Pair.